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Prescribed Burning
How
do we do it? Intense planning and computer modeling of fire behavior
occur before a fire is ever lit on the ground. Firefighters with special burning
skills survey the topography and fuels and study the weather patterns in the burn
area. Often monitoring crews will study the area before and after the burn occurs.
Firefighters meet with biologists and other refuge staff to decide where and when
the burn should occur and to make sure that the burn objectives can be met. Exactly
how each fire is lit depends on the weather, lay of the land, and the intensity
of fire needed to meet the goal of the burn. Prescribed Fires are often lit
by hand crews using a drip torch. This allows firefighters to pour out a small
stream of burning fuel. Firefighters may also use a terratorch mounted on a vehicle
which allows more intense fire to be laid in hard to burn areas. Some units
in more remote areas can be ignited using aerial ignition. This type of ignition
uses a helicopter equipped with a sphere dispenser or helitorch , which allows
larger areas to be ignited in a safer manner. |
